What would you do with 2 weeks?

Candycane83

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 11, 2012
If you had to take 2 weeks vacation mandatory, where would you go?

Every year, I’m required to take a 2 week leave and it’s always fun to think of what’s next. We’re booked for Barcelona escape and 5 night DCL next year. We’re adding on Madrid for a full 2 weeks (and maybe 2 extra days). Fast forward, I’m thinking of 2021! My son will be 7 by then and I was thinking of what we could do that year. So many choices to say the least! I guess I have until January or May next year to explore my options. I guess planning is my idea of fun, lol!
 
Our favorite 2 week family trip so far was Costa Rica. In 2 weeks, we were able to see three distinct areas of the country without feeling rushed.

Next year, we are doing Singapore and Borneo. I put together a 2 week itinerary because if I am going to fly 18 hours each way, then I want to stay a while. Other potential 2 week trips on my radar are:

ABD's South Africa trip with some pre-days (again, long flying time means I want to stay longer)
Chile (ideally combining Atacama and Patagonia; I see this as 2 weeks because there is not a great way to combine those 2 areas without backtracking and multiple internal flights)
Peru (my son wants to combine Machu Picchu and the Amazon)
Australia (again, long flying time means I would want to do a big trip)
 
Our favorite 2 week family trip so far was Costa Rica. In 2 weeks, we were able to see three distinct areas of the country without feeling rushed.

Next year, we are doing Singapore and Borneo. I put together a 2 week itinerary because if I am going to fly 18 hours each way, then I want to stay a while. Other potential 2 week trips on my radar are:

ABD's South Africa trip with some pre-days (again, long flying time means I want to stay longer)
Chile (ideally combining Atacama and Patagonia; I see this as 2 weeks because there is not a great way to combine those 2 areas without backtracking and multiple internal flights)
Peru (my son wants to combine Machu Picchu and the Amazon)
Australia (again, long flying time means I would want to do a big trip)
We’ve done Asia last year in March for 5 weeks! Lol! We did 2.5 weeks in Japan, 4 days in Hong Kong and 2 weeks in the Philippines. But my family lives in the Philippines so we can’t really do short trips to Asia. Lots of great places to see in Asia! I’m sure Singapore and Borneo would look great.

South Africa is also on my radar! I’d love it if my family could join me for that though! And my husband would probably need a lot of convincing! :D
 
Wow. I haven't done a 5 week trip since I graduated law school (and I don't expect to get to do another until I retire). That sounds wonderful.

What originally got me interested in ABD and spurred me to start posting on these boards was the South Africa trip. My husband is a fearful traveler. If I suggest anything other than Europe, his immediate reaction is that we will probably die. (I get a lot of apologies once we are already on the trip and clearly not being menaced by bandits or man-eating snakes, or whatever else he was afraid of). So I thought that doing a Disney guided tour in Africa would convince him to come. That remains to be seen, but perhaps a guided tour would help sell the idea to your husband. In addition to ABD, there are a couple of other family friendly tour companies that do South Africa. And some great trip reports on the boards here that you can show your husband.
 


Wow. I haven't done a 5 week trip since I graduated law school (and I don't expect to get to do another until I retire). That sounds wonderful.

What originally got me interested in ABD and spurred me to start posting on these boards was the South Africa trip. My husband is a fearful traveler. If I suggest anything other than Europe, his immediate reaction is that we will probably die. (I get a lot of apologies once we are already on the trip and clearly not being menaced by bandits or man-eating snakes, or whatever else he was afraid of). So I thought that doing a Disney guided tour in Africa would convince him to come. That remains to be seen, but perhaps a guided tour would help sell the idea to your husband. In addition to ABD, there are a couple of other family friendly tour companies that do South Africa. And some great trip reports on the boards here that you can show your husband.
Lol! We pooled our vacation for 2 years for that trip and my son was 3 so no school yet!

I laughed out loud because my husband is the same fearful traveller! I’m surprised he didn’t put much of a fuzz about travelling to Costa Rica! We’re doing a tour in March for that and so excited for it! Otherwise we haven’t really been to too many places outside of North America and Asia. I’m starting to hint to him we should try going but that would probably be a while from now. I’m trying to sell him to more trips to Europe too!
 
I am currently in London as I type this. We just started our 2 week last “family vacation hurrah since my oldest graduated from college and starts his job in August” trip. We have 3 days in London followed by 9 days in South Africa for sightseeing and safari. I did not go with a tour company because I still have another child in college and my budget ($12,000 total) is pretty small for this type of trip. I did hire a few private safari guides to escort us around Kruger, then we’ll mix in some self drive safaris. We are staying at the Prtotea Hotel (on points), Tamboti Tented Camp (a SanParks camp - very inexpensive) and Shindzela (a private tent camp in Timbavati Reserve). We are sooooo excited. I’ve been planning and saving for this trip for years!!!
 
I am currently in London as I type this. We just started our 2 week last “family vacation hurrah since my oldest graduated from college and starts his job in August” trip. We have 3 days in London followed by 9 days in South Africa for sightseeing and safari. I did not go with a tour company because I still have another child in college and my budget ($12,000 total) is pretty small for this type of trip. I did hire a few private safari guides to escort us around Kruger, then we’ll mix in some self drive safaris. We are staying at the Prtotea Hotel (on points), Tamboti Tented Camp (a SanParks camp - very inexpensive) and Shindzela (a private tent camp in Timbavati Reserve). We are sooooo excited. I’ve been planning and saving for this trip for years!!!
Wow that sounds totally amazing!! I hope you do let us know how that goes! Have a great trip and safe travels!!!
 


Wow that sounds totally amazing!! I hope you do let us know how that goes! Have a great trip and safe travels!!!
Thank you! I’ll check back in when we get home. If you want some South Africa inspiration, read CousinOrville’s awesome SA ABD trip report! His pictures are incredible. His trip report is how I got the idea for the 3 days in London on the front end. Good luck deciding on your trip!
 
2 weeks at the same time - oh, so many options.....

1. Japan
2. China
3. New Zealand
4. South Africa
5. US Desert Southwest road trip. So many different ways to do this - Route 66, or a slow exploration of the Utah Big 5, or a big loop around the 4 corners area. There are some good road trip books out there for ideas.
6. Alaska land and sea trip
7. Hawaii - two islands, done up well with time to relax to spare
8. Morocco
9. US New England road trip - Boston, Newport, Acadia National Park, Vermont, etc. (my kids loved Boston and Newport at age 9)
10. Basically any ABD with some pre and/or post days to get to the correct length
11. European trips - again so many ideas. Here are some that are on my radar screen:
a. Finland and the Baltic republics
b. Sienna and Portugal
c. Austria (Salzburg, Vienna, with day trips into Germany and to other areas around Salzburg)
d. Belgium and Luxenbourg
f. River cruise with pre and post days
g. Italian islands trip (and so many other Italy 2 week ideas)
h. Greece - Athens/mainland and time at some islands
i. Azores trip

I'd want more time for Australia (I have a 6 week itinerary in my head for that trip, so likely will never happen).
 
2 weeks at the same time - oh, so many options.....

1. Japan
2. China
3. New Zealand
4. South Africa
5. US Desert Southwest road trip. So many different ways to do this - Route 66, or a slow exploration of the Utah Big 5, or a big loop around the 4 corners area. There are some good road trip books out there for ideas.
6. Alaska land and sea trip
7. Hawaii - two islands, done up well with time to relax to spare
8. Morocco
9. US New England road trip - Boston, Newport, Acadia National Park, Vermont, etc. (my kids loved Boston and Newport at age 9)
10. Basically any ABD with some pre and/or post days to get to the correct length
11. European trips - again so many ideas. Here are some that are on my radar screen:
a. Finland and the Baltic republics
b. Sienna and Portugal
c. Austria (Salzburg, Vienna, with day trips into Germany and to other areas around Salzburg)
d. Belgium and Luxenbourg
f. River cruise with pre and post days
g. Italian islands trip (and so many other Italy 2 week ideas)
h. Greece - Athens/mainland and time at some islands
i. Azores trip

I'd want more time for Australia (I have a 6 week itinerary in my head for that trip, so likely will never happen).
I love your list! I would tell you that 2 weeks is not enough for Japan though! Lol! I want to go back in a few years!

I would love Australia and New Zealand too. I have a co-worker who will be going next year for maybe 3 weeks. I’m going to copy your Europe list and keep it in my dream list! As well as Alaska land and sea, I was thinking this would be really nice one year. Or Canadian Rockies with some additional time in California!

And I really need a longer trip in the Philippines just to do Palawan, Cebu Siquijor and all the wonderful beaches there! I’d end up having to stay with my family for a while too so that’s another month long trip!
 
Depends on the time of year, honestly. It makes a big difference in what we would choose to do for a couple of weeks. My favorite trips with that amount of time have been:

Europe (any couple of countries really - England/France, Germany/Belgium, Italy/Switzerland, you get the idea)
French Polynesia (we went via Tahiti to Le Taha'a and Bora Bora - it was a fabulous trip and we want to go again but maybe Moorea instead of Bora Bora)
US road trip (we drove from Oregon to Yellowstone then down to Las Vegas and then through the Mojave to Disneyland and flew home)
China (two weeks was plenty for us... we visited Hong Kong, Chengdu, Xian, Beijing and Shanghai)
Japan (You could probably see the highlights plus some in Tokyo & Kyoto with that amount of time).

I waited for my sabbatical to plan an African safari. We'll be gone 28 days and I still feel like we had to make a lot of concessions and are missing some things I'd have liked to see, but my husband does not get one and that's what he was able to bank up over the last few years.
 
I would definitely return to Australia, then:

New Zealand
Japan
An African safari
Panama Canal Cruise

My dream trip if time and money would ever allow is an around the world cruise.
World cruise would be amazing!! I probably have to wait 35 more years when I retire! Lol!
 
We just got back from Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. I would definitely put it on your list of places to consider! The Galapagos are absolutely stunning.
 
I would do South Africa but with the single supplement it is out of my price range for now...13k is almost 1/2 of a car purchase...which is what I need to do first. SIGH!!
 
Wow that sounds totally amazing!! I hope you do let us know how that goes! Have a great trip and safe travels!!!
I promised I'd report back about how my trip went. It was absolutely AMAZING!!! I was a little stressed about it because I planned it 100% by myself with some help from the Fodor's folks, but no travel agent or tour company, so everything was 100% my responsibility. It went flawlessly with the exception of 2 minor car issues. 1) After an overnight flight from London to Johannesburg, we picked up the rental car and drove the 4 hours to our hotel in Hazyview just outside Kruger Park. It was around 5:15, starting to get dark and we were about 15-20 minutes away from Hazyview when a tire blew. We called Budget Roadside Assistance, but got no help. They just told us to put on the spare, turn the car into the closest Budget office (45 min away) the next day, and pick up a new car. The next thing we knew, a truck load of Afrikaners stopped to help us. It was a dad, his son, nephew and a friend. They changed the tire! They stopped because they could see we were tourists and it was getting dark. They didn't want us out on the side of the road after dark; they wanted us to truly enjoy our visit to their country. We tried to buy them some beer as a thank you, but they said no. We did take a big group picture with all of us though! They were such nice people! 2) After 25 hours of travel back to the US, we got to our car at the airport. It was about 100 degrees outside and the battery was dead. We saw a sign for airport car assistance in the parking lot, called, and were on our way home in about 15 minutes. So all in all, things went very well.

Our flights were about $2000 over budget (my original trip budget for everything was $10,000 - pretty small), so I get what you are saying about airfare. When I priced things out for Summer 2018, flights were around $1250 each, so I budgeted $5000. I couldn't find anything under $1600 for Summer 2019, so I kept waiting (shouldn't have waited!!!!) and ended up paying $1800 each. I'm still paying off that bill! We also ended up adding two more guided game drives while we were there because my DH loved them so much. Out of the 8 game drives we had, 5 of them were private with only the 4 of us in the jeep with the guide!

Here is what we (me, DH, DS22, DD20) did -
London: London House Hotel in Kensington Gardens/Bayswater area
Day 1 - double decker bus tour with The Original Tour, dinner at a pub
Day 2 - Tower of London, Thames River cruise, Trafalgar Rock & Roll walking tour of Piccadilly and Soho, pub for lunch (I had high tea scheduled but got outvoted), Evensong at Westminster Abbey, pub for dinner
Day 3 - Churchill's War Room, flight to SA

South Africa:
Day 4 - Protea Hotel Hazyview (free using Marriott points), didn't get there until around 6:00 PM, dinner at hotel (DS loved the monkeys here)
Day 5 - Kruger Park sunrise game drive with Kurt Safari (hotel gave us breakfast boxes to take with us, we saw a leopard sleeping on the side of the road first thing), dinner at hotel
Day 6 - had to exchange the rental car, breakfast at hotel (included each morning), lunch at Harrie's Pancake in Graskop, Panorama Route (didn't do the whole thing due to the rental car exchange and late start), dinner in town
Day 7 - breakfast at hotel, Kruger Park afternoon game drive with Kurt Safari (a whole herd of elephants coming up from the Sabi River came right up to our jeep), dinner at hotel
Day 8 - breakfast at hotel, DD and I went to the Elephant Sanctuary to brush down elephants while DH and DS golfed at Sabi River Sun, relaxed by the pool in the afternoon, cultural dinner and show at Shangaan River Club in Hippo Hollow
Day 9 - Tamboti Tented Camp, breakfast at hotel, then drove up through Kruger Park (drove slowly, game drive style and saw sooooo many animals! elephants, giraffes, rhinos) to Tamboti which is inside Kruger Park, cooked dinner over campfire at camp
Day 10 - sunrise game drive (saw another leopard and 2 female lions but lions were really far away), lunch at camp, sunset game drive (saw a genet and a honey badger), cooked dinner over campfire at camp
Day 11 - Shindzela Tented Camp, after breakfast we drove out of Kruger into the Timbavati Reserve to Shindzela (a beautiful full service classic safari camp with 3 meals a day and 2 game drives a day included. The beds had hot water bottles in them and mosquito netting over them each night when we got back after dinner - so pretty!), afternoon game drive with sundowners (we saw a pride of 5 female lions with 3 sets of cubs that afternoon)
Day 12 - morning game drive, afternoon game drive (saw a hippo marking his territory, so funny!), all 3 meals at camp (and they were yummy, dinner was served in the Boma around the campfire each night - very lovely!)
Day 13 - Protea OR Tambo (free with points, with a late 2:00 checkout the next day), we had one last morning game drive at Shindzela (saw a 500 large herd of water buffalo at a watering hole, and the pride of lions came back to drink as well. The male lion was with them this time!!! After drinking, they stalked the herd of buffalo, we followed them hoping to see a kill, but it didn't happen. It was AMAZING nonetheless!) After one last breakfast at Shindzela, we left for OR Tambo.
Day 14 - breakfast at hotel, naps to prepare for the looooong travel day/s, early dinner at hotel, flight home that evening

We were really happy that we stayed in 3 different places in the Greater Kruger Area because each area had different animals and different size herds. We could not get over the volume of each species we saw. Driving through Kruger to Tamboti, my DS looked to the left and yelled because he couldn't believe how many giraffes were right there. There were 15-20 walking and running right next to the road. The next second my DD yells "look", so we turned to the right. There were 50 or 60 elephants all gathered at the watering hole drinking. The volume and variety were incredible! We saw all the big five multiple times, plus tons of other animals and lots of amazing birds. And even though it was winter, we saw lots of baby animals (rhino, hippos, baboons, zebras, lion cubs, giraffes, water buffalo calves, elephants). It was a GREAT trip! And I can't believe we did all that we did, saw all that we saw, and stayed in the quality lodging that we booked all for a $12,000 budget.
 
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Our favorite 2 week trip to date was South Korea last spring and I would jump on a plane and go back in a heart beat. Such an incredible country of friendly, resilient, respectful people. And going to the DMZ and looking into north korea and seeing the unused train tracks that go there was one of the highlights for me. So much history that I really didn't know.

If you had to take 2 weeks vacation mandatory, where would you go?

Every year, I’m required to take a 2 week leave and it’s always fun to think of what’s next. We’re booked for Barcelona escape and 5 night DCL next year. We’re adding on Madrid for a full 2 weeks (and maybe 2 extra days). Fast forward, I’m thinking of 2021! My son will be 7 by then and I was thinking of what we could do that year. So many choices to say the least! I guess I have until January or May next year to explore my options. I guess planning is my idea of fun, lol!
 
To Candycane83

Fly to Amsterdam .... hire a car ..... you drive on the same side of the road ....

Visit The Efteling theme park Near Tilburg , & Maduradame ( ? ) near The Hague & Toverland Theme Park

Near Venlo also Phantasia Land near Cologne , ( Germany )

All have Hotels & good value .
 

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